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U.S. Judokas Earn Gold in Canada |
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Cohen, meanwhile, lost in the bronze medal match to Kalem Kachur (CAN) who St. Leger beat in the quarter-finals.
Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen) won her third consecutive Rendez-Vous title in the 57kg division, beating Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) in the final. Chandler, a two-time National Champion in the 57kg division moved back up after spending three years fighting down to 52kg after the World Championships in September.
Gotay dominated the two minute match, leading by a yuko before throwing Chandler for a resounding ippon with an o soto gari (outer leg throw). A Pan Am Champion in the 52kg division, Chandler is expected to be Gotay’s closest challenger at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo, June 13-14 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Janine Nakao (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University), who won bronze at the U.S. Open, and Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo) both placed fifth in the 57kg division.
Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) and Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) had a rematch of their U.S. Open 73kg bronze medal match with Brestyan taking the win in the gold medal final by an early waza-ari (half-point).
Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) and Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute) each won bronze medals in the 73kg division.
Jefferson, who lost to Pawel Zydak (POL) earlier in the day, defeated Bill Shanahan (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) in the bronze medal match. Eldred, who lost to Brestyan in the preliminary rounds, defeated Pawel to win bronze.
The women’s 44kg division was a three-person round-Robin with an all-American contingent of teenagers.
Sixteen-year-old Taylor Ibera (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) won the division, defeating both Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) and 13-year-old Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo).
Prado was controlling the match against Ibera, going in for an uchimata in the last minute, but Ibera ran Prado backwards to win by ippon (instant win).
Ibera fought Bouyssou in the next match, countering Bouyssou’s drop seoi nage (dropping shoulder throw) for a yuko score.
Bouyssou won the final match, and the silver medal, when she beat Prado by a yuko and a koka.
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